Category: Poetry

My Poetry, NaPoWriMo 2016, PoetryLeave a comment

For Joy

Charlotte Hamrick

I never expected to make the journey that pulls you toward helplessness and illness and demands you step up. The journey that structures your life around spoon feedings during Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune and whatever else crawls across the tv while you’re coaxing your loved one to eat. It was a journey of patience and perseverance, of constant advocacy for excellence of care, of schedules and massages, hair brushing and body-turning. It was a journey of acceptance for the inevitable but without a thought of giving up. It was a journey I was honored to travel, one in which I … Continue reading For Joy

NaPoWriMo 2016, Poetry2 Comments

Forgotten Woman

Charlotte Hamrick

If I died alone in a nursing home would anyone notice or would I be just another old lady leaving a bed for another old lady, just another pair of hands to fold over a sunken chest, the heart beneath long ago stilled by loneliness. If I died alone in a nursing home would my spirit have been strengthened by endurance and faith or would sweet relief from long days of bed sores and liquid feedings, from hurried and impatient caregivers be welcomed. If I died alone in a nursing home would anything that went before even matter. ***** Writing … Continue reading Forgotten Woman

My Poetry, NaPoWriMo 2016, Photography, Poetry4 Comments

The Poet is Highjacked from National Poetry Month

Charlotte Hamrick

  It’s your fault, New York. You grabbed me by the heart and shook out all the doubts, all the fears, all the hurts and disappointments. You ran your fingers around my brain, pulled out all the murky stuff and replaced it with the brightness of yellow taxis streaking down the avenues, the open-faced grins of locals walking dogs, the clinking glasses and laughter of after-work drinks, children running through spring kissed grass in Central Park. You, New York, you are the reason I forgot about National Poetry Month and didn’t write a single poem for nine days because you … Continue reading The Poet is Highjacked from National Poetry Month

My Poetry, NaPoWriMo 2016, New Orleans, Pets, Photography, Poetry1 Comment

In the Garden

Charlotte Hamrick

  Morning sunshine backlights the ferns giving them a glowing radiance. Mockingbirds swoop and hop over the garden from wire to tree in a spring mating dance, oblivious to the full feeder where other birds feast. A slight breeze rustles the bamboo like slippered feet crossing the floor and the wind-chime offers a solitary ding from time to time. I knew this morning was perfect when the dogs awoke me with kisses and eagerly bound  down the stairs, tails waving like flags. **** NaPoMo prompt courtesy of This is not a Literary Journal:  “Go outside, sit and observe. Make a … Continue reading In the Garden

About Writing, My Poetry, NaPoWriMo 2016, Photography, PoetryLeave a comment

Lost

Charlotte Hamrick

***** Nico Vassilakis provided today’s poetry prompt via Found Poetry Review. This one was definitely outside my wheel house. The prompt was to utilize a technique called “vispo“. I chose the word “indigo” because it’s a word I like both phonetically and visually. This is not a poem in the sense of what we expect a poem to be but it did engage my senses and encouraged me to think of ways to communicate “indigo” in a maybe unexpected way. Of course, I turned to photography and manipulated a photo I had taken for this prompt. Anyway. It was fun … Continue reading Lost

Morning Meditation, My Poetry, NaPoWriMo 2016, New Orleans, PoetryLeave a comment

Morning Meditation: Pink Ladies

Charlotte Hamrick

The Pink Ladies are blooming. I saw the first ones this April morning in between the sidewalk cracks, so fragile in their beauty. But what resilience and strength it takes to grow in the midst of concrete and exhaust fumes. Little flowers, you remind us to make the most of ourselves in an indifferent world. To embrace our lot in life and grow! Continue reading Morning Meditation: Pink Ladies

My Poetry, NaPoWriMo 2016, Poetry4 Comments

Bar Girl

Charlotte Hamrick

She is a moon-faced daughter in a gravel-pit bar crowd open to God for a second chance or a bed of coals. She is a stand-in, pleading fire for a loud so furious, so crashing, lightning balls jump right up to show you how it’s done. ***** Writing prompt courtesy of Collier Nogues via Found Poetry Review for National Poetry Month. My sources were one of my favorite poems, “Pearl”, by Dorianne Laux and a magazine advertisement for Otezla. Continue reading Bar Girl

My Poetry, NaPoWriMo 2016, Poetry2 Comments

That Feeling of Drowning

Charlotte Hamrick

It doesn’t take water to drown. It only takes an absence of air from a shock to the system. That one tiny moment when disbelief dissolves recognition or grief consumes reason. The moment that expands in waves onto your private beach bringing a loss of direction, a losing of way, a distortion of things once solid. Falling into murky silence where everything is muffled, the insulation entices. Just close your eyes and drift. Continue reading That Feeling of Drowning

Books, Essays, Flash Fiction, Food, Hot Reads, Poetry, Women, Writers2 Comments

Hot Reads: Lists & Blueberry Cobbler

Charlotte Hamrick

Here are a few cool things I’ve read this week and I’m just realizing several are actual lists by other people. Great! That means you have a galaxy of stories to read. Women’s History Month is marching right along and Change Seven Magazine has given us this gem:  “7 Reads We Recommend: Women’s History Month” by Laurel Dowswell and Emily Ramsey. I’m slowly savoring these sweet nuggets. Also in Change Seven, “Distracted by Life” by Sandy Ebner is a frightening account of living with ADHD and how she found light at the end of that dark tunnel. A fascinating read. “Just … Continue reading Hot Reads: Lists & Blueberry Cobbler

Inspiration Monday, Poetry1 Comment

Inspiration Monday: Marianne Williamson

Charlotte Hamrick

“Our self-perception determines our behavior. If we think we’re small, limited, inadequate creatures, then we tend to behave that way, and the energy we radiate reflects those thoughts no matter what we do. If we think we’re magnificent creatures with an infinite abundance of love and power to give, then we tend to behave that way. Once again, the energy around us reflects our state of awareness.” ― Marianne Williamson, “Return to Love” Continue reading Inspiration Monday: Marianne Williamson